Fugitive's father speaks about son, the system

Editor Connie Korbel, Publisher Sharon DiMauro and Reporter Tony Reed conducted a lengthy interview with Aaron Bassler's father James, shortly after the news of Jere Melo's murder became public. Aaron is wanted for the murders of Jere Melo and Matthew Coleman and has been eluding law enforcement in wooded areas outside the city since Aug. 27.

James expressed frustration with many things; Law enforcement, the courts and mental health system, HIPAA laws and a feeling of helplessness in trying to get mental health care for his son.

A notable change

James said all appeared to be normal with Aaron until a point just after his graduation from Fort Bragg High School in 1994. According to James, Aaron was arrested in Fort Bragg and taken to jail.

Once in jail, Aaron's demeanor turned to panic and he "ransacked the place."

"We were worried that it might be drugs," James said, "because he was normal' up to that point." He recalled that as a child, they did the typical things a father and son would do together.

"He really wanted to be a good kid," James said. "He wanted to please people."

He said that after high school, Aaron lost his empathy for others and could only visit for a few minutes before feeling he had to leave.

James said he had "bad communication with law enforcement" at the time, and was not informed that Aaron had been released from jail. Upon his release from jail, Aaron disappeared and began to roam the county in the same panicked state of mind.

While the court index lists that Aaron was involved in 10 criminal/ non-traffic cases, James said police had a lot more contact with him.

He noted that Aaron continued to act unusual when not on drugs.

"I wanted to blame the drugs," he said, "but it's masked in that."

However, he also noted that Aaron responded to authority and sometimes needed incentives to do the right things. He said Aaron also responded to the threat of losing things like his driver's license or the threat of jail time.

James said that shortly afterward, Aaron's apartment went from orderly and clean to messy and chaotic.

"I went over there one time to check on him," he said. "It was disgusting, like an animal was living in there."

He said that several years ago, Aaron began following behavioral patterns, started growing marijuana and held only short-term employment. James felt the growing was for personal use, not to make money, and that he would occasionally partner with others. James said Aaron had a few friends who would show up occasionally.

The way James put it, "Aaron would respond poorly to normal thoughts." He said that sometimes Aaron could be enticed into accepting suggestions of reality, but would usually go the opposite way, deny realistic thoughts and overreact.

"He believes he has special insights," James said.

James used a familiar psychiatric term — delusions of reference, the notion that irrelevant phenomena have personal significance or that there are no accidental outcomes. For example, a delusion of reference would be to see two people talking in the distance and fully believe they must be talking about you.

Aaron would become angry with those who didn't believe him or failed to treat him with special regard.

Wake up call

Bay Area news sources reported that, in January and February 2009, Aaron was arrested for throwing items into the Chinese Consulate building in San Francisco, at 1450 Laguna St., on four occasions. Initially thought to have been explosives, the items were said to have been writings and drawings about a Martian military, red stars and Chinese weapons.

"It was common sense. You don't need a Ph.D. to know something was wrong with him," James said, noting that Aaron often appeared childlike and harmless. "But there was something brewing in him."

James said Aaron's behavior didn't change for the better after the San Francisco arrest. He added that Aaron was able to exercise personal restraint while on probation, but once off medication, couldn't seem to do so.

James said that after the arrest in San Francisco, Aaron was evaluated and prescribed medication, but that doctors would not talk to the family.

"He was required to see doctors as part of his probation, but we don't know the outcome of and evaluation because of his [medical] right to privacy," Bassler's father wrote in a letter to Mendocino County Jail staff. "It's apparent they weren't able to help him."

Then he was "dumped back here" in Fort Bragg, James said, with no medication and no notification made to his family.

When asked, he said Aaron's ability to "put on a good face" was deteriorating, and that he was having increasing trouble in crowded and noisy places like the local supermarkets.

"He was somewhat controllable," James said, "but I didn't have that ability." He also questioned Aaron's drug use as either self medication or "an excuse to be crazy and let loose."

A plea for mental help

While Aaron Bassler was in Mendocino County Jail for the February 2011 incident, his father submitted a letter to the medical staff at the jail, which he provided to the Advocate-News. He asked them to perform a psychiatric evaluation of his son at the time.

"... I believe he needs a psychiatric evaluation and medical treatment for his psychiatric disorder, which appears to be schizophrenia," the letter read. "His behavior changed when he was 18 or 19 years old." The letter described symptoms of paranoia, bizarre delusions, a resistance to help, risk-taking, anger and hostility "out of proportion to the situation."

James said that when he got little help from professionals, he started to educate himself about schizophrenia. He said that when talking to one of Aaron's probation officers, it became obvious to him that he knew more about schizophrenia than the officer.

It's not yet known if an evaluation was conducted while Bassler was in Mendocino County Jail and it's likely that information would not be releasable, based on the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).

James said that each time Aaron was arrested, he hoped something would be done to address his mental status.

"We were relieved when we'd find out he was in jail," he said. "At least there he was safe and being fed. He didn't like it, though. There was a lot of control there."

James said Aaron was sometimes released into his mother's care.

"They were happy when she took him," James said, adding that she was required to make weekly reports to officials about his status.

However, his erratic behavior and late hours made him difficult to live with.

James said that about four months prior to the shootings, Aaron was evicted from his mother's property in the forest east of Fort Bragg. While he would occasionally come back to shower, eat and check in, James said things were falling apart for Aaron.

James said that even though he was able to get food stamps, he had essentially lost everything else.

A privacy wall

James expressed frustration that because his son is an adult, HIPAA laws prevented him from getting his son's psychiatric evaluations results or authorizing treatment.

"HIPAA left no avenue for me," he said. "I could get help for myself, but not for him. People should be shocked at the position I was in."

He said he received some support from NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

James said he recently learned that Aaron had bought ammunition at a local store, and that for some time, was "armed to the teeth."

James said he called the Sheriff's Office sometime after Matt Coleman was found dead near Westport.

"I thought [Matt Coleman's death] was Aaron's work," he said.

"I don't know why he shot these people," he said, noting that Aaron had been visiting the Westport area months before and that Fish and Game officers had some contact with him. "There were rumors that he had a friend out there," he said.

James said the entire ordeal has been extremely difficult to think about, and that he often doesn't want to come into town from his rural home.

"It seems like it's too late now," he said, looking at the light from a nearby window. "There are really no good scenarios left."

Community for patients

"We have a wonderful community here," James said, "but for [the mentally ill] there is no community." He expressed fear for the Fort Bragg community, due to Aaron's unpredictable nature, and hopes every day for a peaceful outcome.

He said that as a parent, he always wanted Aaron to do right so that incidents would not escalate.

He suggested the residential and law enforcement community can work to improve communication and generate changes in the system.

He said communication needs to improve between the agencies, but that no single agency should have full authority over mental illness cases. Family should be an important component in the process, he said, adding that his own involvement in Aaron's life showed better results than the system's.

"I feel like I failed as a father," James said, "but I won't take that on alone." He contended that although law enforcement, mental health and the court system all were successful at their part of dealing with Aaron, the system as a whole was a failure.

An officer's perspective

Fort Bragg Police Sgt. Brandon Lee said that he had personal experience with Aaron before ever dealing with him in a law enforcement capacity. He said that in late 2010, he was dressed in plain clothes, waiting for his children to come home on a school bus, when Aaron sped past the location in his truck. Lee said Aaron yelled things like "F--- you, pig" and flipped him off out the window of the truck.

Sgt. Lee recalled that, a couple weeks later, he and Officer Angie Wilder were called to Columbi's Market for a report of an abusive, intoxicated subject who'd left his vehicle keys on the counter. Upon going outside, officers found Aaron, "completely smashed" and trying to start his truck without the keys, Lee said.

"His behavior was really strange," Lee said. "When we arrested him for [public intoxication], I asked him, Do we need to talk? You drove by my house last week and flipped me off... I don't even know you.'"

Lee said Aaron's response was essentially to yell, "F--- you! You're the problem — all of you!" Lee said the verbal abuse escalated into threats as Aaron was taken to booking.

"He's been less than pleasant with us," Lee said. "That was his demeanor for about six months." Lee noted that Aaron had to be restrained with a special device that restrains the entire body so he could be safely transported to jail.

Lee also noted that upon searching the truck, found it had been spray-painted flat black.

"Everything," he said, "the seats, the dash, all of it. It was like he wanted to conceal it."

Bassler remains at large and is to be considered armed and dangerous. Anyone with information of his location is urged to call 911, or the Sheriff's command post at 961-2479.